Anson Mount Movies
Trained theater actor Anson Mount hesitated to audition for his breakthrough film role in the Britney Spears vehicle Crossroads (2002), fearing that the project was too cheesy and mainstream. Yet, a little prodding from Spears fan Robert De Niro convinced him otherwise and the 29-year-old Mount was soon America's newest teen heartthrob. Born Anson Adams Mount II in Prospect Heights, IL, Mount is the only child of former professional golfer Nancy Smith and late Playboy Magazine sports editor Anson Mount II. He grew up in White Bluff, TN, and attended Dickson County High School in nearby Dickson, where he landed his first acting role as a supporting player in a school play. After graduating in 1991, Mount enrolled at Tennessee's University of the South, joined a fraternity, and dedicated himself to performance art and theater. He went on to earn a master's degree in fine arts and acting from Columbia University and then joined the New York City theater scene. Mount first made headlines in 1998, when he starred as Joshua, a gay character who represents a modern-day Jesus, in playwright Terrence McNally's controversial Corpus Christi. Over 1,000 protesters representing religious groups turned out for the play's much-hyped opening performance, which then received scathing reviews from right-wing and left-wing newspapers alike. In 1999, Mount made his television debut in a guest spot on Fox's Ally McBeal and then took a memorable turn in an episode of HBO's Sex in the City. The part led to a recurring role on the NBC drama Third Watch in 2000. That same year, he appeared on film in Boiler Room with Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Affleck, played the title role in Hillary Birmingham's The Truth About Tully, and portrayed a driven student filmmaker in the sequel to Urban Legends, Urban Legends: Final Cut. After working on 2001's forgettable Poolhall Junkies with Chazz Palminteri and Rick Shroder, Mount earned a part in the star-studded City by the Sea, with Robert De Niro, Patti Lupone, James Franco, Eliza Dushku, William Forsythe, and Francis McDormand. Mount was on the set of City by the Sea, reading the screenplay to Tamra Davis' Crossroads, when De Niro asked about the script. Mount explained that he was up for the part of Britney Spears' love interest in the film, but he had doubts about the project. De Niro told Mount not to be foolish, and agreed to help the young actor rehearse by reading Spears' lines. Mount landed the role, and even appeared in the pages of Teen and Seventeen magazines, but he did not allow himself to be pigeonholed as a mainstream actor: Around the time of Crossroads' highly publicized opening, he sealed a deal to appear in a film to be directed by the notoriously unconventional Peter Greenaway. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide- 2008
Inspired by a true story, The Two Mr. Kissels stars John Stamos and Anson Mount as two handsome and successful brothers who seemed to have it all, until the day they were both found dead under mysterious circumstances. Andrew (Stamos) and Robert Kissel (Mount) both had lavish homes, beautiful wives, and high-paying jobs, so how is it that their lives could have both comes to such tragic ends? Robin Tunney and Gretchen Egolf co-star in a domestic mystery with a shocking twist. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Stamos, Robin Tunney, (more)
- 2008
Set against the sun-soaked backdrop of an East Texas community that's bucking under the weight of a serious meth epidemic, David Pomes deep woods family drama details the struggle of an abused and alienated teen boy to reconnect with his long lost father. Before they can make personal amends, however, both father and son will have to overcome their respective addictions to the crystal meth. Anson Mount, Xander R. Berkeley, and Ryan Donowho star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anson Mount, Xander Berkeley, (more)
- 2007
This quirky comedy stars Cary Elwes as Erik Naybor, a motivational speaker and life coach who keeps his family on their toes with a rigorous schedule of physical exercises and psychological techniques. He seems on top of his game, not to mention his family's lives, until a delinquent nephew shows up who has info on Erik's not-so-perfect past. Suddenly, it looks like the rigid structure that Erik has built his life around may not be as sturdy as he thought. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Elwes, Illeana Douglas, (more)
Hip-hop superstar Snoop Dogg takes horror fans on a ride through the scary underside of life in the 'hood in this horror anthology. The self-described "gatekeeper of the after-party" (Snoop Dogg) introduces three stories of life in a ghetto neighborhood in which the unscrupulous get what's coming to them. Posie (Daniella Alonso) is a nice girl who turns mean when a gang of thugs murder her mother. Posie swears revenge against the gangsters, but isn't sure what to do until she encounters a member of the undead (Danny Trejo) who gives her some lessons in bloodthirsty behavior. Next, Tex Woods Jr. (Anson Mount) is a ugly-spirited Southerner who claims ownership of a house belonging to his father after the old man dies at Tex's hands. Tex and his wife, Tiffany (Brande Roderick), waste no time in evicting a handful of impoverished war veterans who were friendly with Tex's dad, but he pushes them too far and Roscoe (Ernie Hudson) leads the former soldiers in a shocking act of revenge. And finally, a rapper who has betrayed most of his friends on the way up gets his just deserts on the way down. Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror also features Billy Dee Williams, Method Man, Jason Alexander, Lin Shaye, and Aries Spears. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Snoop Dogg, Ernie Hudson, (more)
- 2006
Another Law & Order spin-off from producer Dick Wolf, NBC's weekly, hour-long Conviction starred Stephanie March, recreating her familiar Law & Order: SVU role as Assistant DA Alexandra Cabot. Formerly imbedded in the Federal Witness Protection Program, Alexandra was once more able to move about and practice her trade, this time as bureau chief for a group of young, ambitious ADAs. Her new colleagues included deputy DA and law-office manager Jim Steele (Anson Mount); born-into-privilege lawyer Nick Potter (Jordan Bridges), who idealistically left a lucrative private practice to work with Cabot for a paltry 51,000 dollars per year; arrogant grandstander Billy Desmond (J. August Richards), who went to great lengths to secure for himself only those cases that he was sure to win; Jessica Rossi (Milena Govich), Nick Potter's unofficial assistant and a woman with a murky, working-class past; Brian Peluso (Eric Balfour), whose legal brilliance was mitigated by his slovenliness and his messy private life; and Christina Finn (Julianne Nicholson), who'd been working in the office for two years before finally landing her first case and was understandably anxious to make up for lost time. Eschewing the "procedural" format of the other series in the Law & Order franchise, Conviction was built more along the lines of the medical drama Grey's Anatomy, focusing more on the various lawyers' personal problems and hang-ups than on their professional activities. Also breaking away from the Law & Order formula was the series' predilection for having the attorneys inaugurate legal investigations before it was entirely certain that a crime had actually been committed. Conviction first aired on March 3, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Balfour, Jordan Bridges, (more)
An unattainable teenage beauty whose etherial allure is so potent that it has drawn some men to their doom goes on a weekend trip with her popular new friends with tragic results in the feature debut of filmmaker Jonathan Levine. Sixteen-year-old Mandy Lane (Amber Heard) is an earthbound angel who has been courted by every available man in her small Texas town to no avail. When the normally reclusive enchantress reluctantly agrees to accompany her new friends on a weekend getaway, the initially irritating adolescent advances made toward her rapidly turn menacing. As the sun falls behind the hills and a volatile mix of drugs, alcohol, and hormones turns explosive, the irreversible propositions of her peers lead to unexpected, and horrifying, consequences. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amber Heard, Anson Mount, (more)
Curtis Hanson's adaptation of Jennifer Weiner's novel In Her Shoes stars Toni Collette and Cameron Diaz as a pair of very close but very different sisters. Free-wheeling irresponsible Maggie Feller (Diaz) gets through her life thanks to her remarkable looks and her lack of scruples. She constantly goes to her straight-laced, plain-Jane successful lawyer sister Rose (Collette) for financial help. The two sisters have been very close to each other in part because their troubled mother died when they were girls. Right about the same time that Maggie discovers hidden letters that reveal she and Rose have a grandmother, Maggie does something to betray Rose's trust. Maggie sets off for Florida to find the grandmother. A failed workplace romance forces Rose to rethink her career, a career that has been the center of her life. As Rose tentatively begins a new relationship and Maggie gets to know her grandmother (played by Shirley MacLaine), the two learn a dark family secret that helps smooth the path toward reconciliation. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, (more)
The Warrior Class concerns a lawyer who falls in love with the wife of a powerful mobster. He must figure out how to play everyone against each other in order to get away with the girl and his life. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anson Mount, Erica Leerhsen, (more)
- 2003
Gallant Clark Kent (Tom Welling) protects Lana (Kristin Kreuk) from three college-age hooligans by tossing one of the miscreants, Andrew Connors (Michael D. Adamthwaite) onto the hood of a police car. As a result, Clark is arrested and sentenced to community service, and the Kent family is slapped with a million-dollar civil lawsuit by the injured Connors. Elsewhere, the romance between Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) and Helen Bryce (Emmanuelle Vaugier) is threatened by the arrival Helen's psychotic ex-boyfriend Paul Hayden (Anson Mount). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Battle of Shaker Heights is directed by the team of Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin. Kelly Ernswiler (Shia LaBeouf) is a quirky 17-year-old whose greatest passion is reenacting battles from World War II. After meeting Bart Bowland (Elden Henson), someone who is nothing like him but shares his passion, Kelly ends up putting his battlefield knowledge to work in real life. The script by Erica Beeney was the winner of the second Project Greenlight competition. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shia LaBeouf, Elden Henson, (more)
Multimillion-selling recording artist Britney Spears makes the transition to the big screen with this teen road trip romantic comedy, co-produced by the film branch of the entity that first brought her pop stardom, MTV. Crossroads casts Spears as Lucy, the shy valedictorian of her high school graduating class. On the night of their prom, Lucy and her once-close childhood friends -- the prim and proper Kit (Zoe Saldana) and the tomboyish, five-months-pregnant Mimi (Taryn Manning) -- reunite to dig up a time capsule they buried together as little girls. Mimi's about to make good on her childhood dreams; she's leaving their small Southern town for hopes of fame and fortune in Los Angeles. Though Lucy and Kit are reluctant to join her, they decide to tag along at the last minute, agreeing to be chauffeured by Mimi's just-out-of-jail friend, Ben (Anson Mount). As they trek across the country, plagued by car problems, unsanitary motels, and petty bickering, the three friends reveal meaningful secrets to each other, and Lucy begins to realize that the handsome, reticent Ben might just be the guy for her. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Britney Spears, Zoe Saldana, (more)
A man struggling to come to terms with the sins of his father makes the terrible discovery that his own son has fallen into a life of crime in a drama based on a true story. Vincent LaMarca (Robert DeNiro) is a dedicated and well-respected New York City police detective who has gone to great lengths to distance himself from his past; four decades earlier, Vincent's father Angelo killed a young child, and since then Vincent has carried emotional scars from this incident that he refuses to show to the world. Vincent lives alone in a small apartment building, though he has nurtured a close if tentative relationship with his downstairs neighbor, Michelle (Frances McDormand). One day, Vincent and his partner, Reg Duffy (George Dzundza), are assigned to investigate a murder when the body of a young man is found dead in a dumpster. It turns out the body was that of a drug dealer, and the dealer's partner in crime, Spyder (William Forsythe), believes the killer was one of his regular customers -- a junkie would-be musician who calls himself Snake (Brian Tarantina). City By the Sea was adapted from a piece by journalist Mike McAlary which first appeared in Esquire magazine; the cast also includes Eliza Dushku and Anson Mount. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand, (more)
Taking home both the audience prize for Best Director as well as the critics' prize for Best Film, writer-director Hilary Birmingham was the toast of the 2000 L.A. Independent Film Festival with this slice-of-life drama about a pair of motherless young men and their relationships with women. Tully Jr. (Anson Mount) and Earl (Glenn Fitzgerald) live on their father's Nebraska ranch, proud and independent to a fault. While the shy, reclusive Earl spends his free time watching movies, the cockier Tully works his way through a succession of short-term affairs and an off-again, on-again relationship with April (Catherine Kellner), a stripper in town. When their childhood friend Ella (Julianne Nicholson) returns to town to start a veterinary practice, however, Tully falls for her -- although the townsfolk have their doubts that he could ever commit to one woman. Birmingham based her film on a short story by author Tom McNeal; before Tully, the director cut her teeth producing PBS documentaries. Tully would go on to show at festivals in Toronto, Canada, and Melbourne, Australia. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anson Mount, Julianne Nicholson, (more)
In this drama that explores greed and corruption in American business, Giovanni Ribisi plays Seth Davis, an intelligent and ambitious college dropout who runs a casino in his apartment. Eager to show his father that he can succeed, Seth lands a job with a small stock brokerage firm. He is given a space in the company's "boiler room," where he makes cold calls to prospective clients. As it turns out, Seth has a genuine talent for cold calling, which gains him the approval of his superiors, the admiration of his father, and the attentions of one of his co-workers, Abby Hilliard (Nia Long). However, the higher up the ladder Seth rises, the deeper he sinks into a quagmire of dirty dealings, until he's breaking the law in order to keep his bosses happy and his paychecks coming. The Boiler Room also features Tom Everett Scott, Scott Caan, Jamie Kennedy, Nicky Katt, and Ben Affleck in a cameo as the headhunter who brings Seth into the firm. Ribisi and Scott also appeared together in That Thing You Do; Ribisi was the drummer replaced by Scott, who then led The One-Ders to fictional pop stardom. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, (more)
Tall tales turn into chilling reality in this sequel to the 1998 horror hit Urban Legend. Amy Mayfield (Jenny Morrison) is a film student at Alpine University who for her thesis project (which will also be her entry to a prestigious competition for young directors) has decided to make a horror film about urban legends that suddenly and disturbingly come true. However, as Amy and her student cast and crew begin filming staged murders for the project, members of her team begin dying for real, and the survivors have to track down the killer before they become the next victims. And where do Travis (Matthew Davis), Graham (Joey Lawrence), and Toby (Anson Mount), three other students vying for the same prize as Amy, fit into this scenario? Urban Legends: The Final Cut marked the directorial debut for John Ottman, who previously distinguished himself as an editor and composer (he also performed both of those functions for this film). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Morrison, Matthew Davis, (more)
